McAllister & Quinn is well-respected for its record of success and return on investment for its college and university clients nationwide.
McAllister & Quinn offers federal grant and faculty development consulting to small and mid-sized colleges to help an institution sharpen its strategic focus and increase and diversify external funding. McAllister & Quinn has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in competitive grant funding for scholarships and student support, academic programs, research, and equipment.
Professional Grant Writing & Coaching
Learn More About our Higher Education Practice
McAllister & Quinn maintains the largest and most specialized grant consultant network in the country. Faculty and staff work with writing teams from our proprietary network of over 250 subject matter experts. A writing team that includes a McAllister & Quinn in-house professional, writer, reviewer and editor is assigned to grant projects. Our team works collaboratively with faculty and staff. McAllister & Quinn can transform a small or non-existent grants office into a robust grant seeking operation.
Faculty Development
The McAllister & Quinn grants service was created with the demands on faculty and staff at teaching institutions in mind. Regardless of an institution’s size, mission or level of experience with grants, our consulting model yields results. McAllister & Quinn professional development offerings appeal to a range of faculty and staff at different experience levels. McAllister & Quinn offers monthly webinars on a variety of topics that aim to help faculty and staff improve their grant seeking approach and learn more about funding opportunities.
Dr. Sally White, Senior Vice President, discusses opportunities for smaller colleges and universities to seek federal grants.
Every day McAllister & Quinn clients are notified by a funder that their proposal has been selected for funding.
Examples of Recent Client Success:
Rhodes College received a $650k National Science Foundation, Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Program (S-STEM) award. The award provides funding to recruit and provide scholarships to 18 academically undergraduate students.
Rivier University was awarded a $1.4M Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) grant from the Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA). This federal grant program provides funding to expand primary care training for registered nurses.
Agnes Scott College was awarded a $150k grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities’s (NEH) Summer Seminars and Institutes for K-12 Teachers program. The award will fund a two-week summer institute for 25 English teachers to study 21st-century approaches to teaching Shakespeare.
SUNY Geneseo won a $1.3M award from the U.S. Department of Education’s Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program. The funding allowed them to better allow disadvantaged and underrepresented STEM students to access and succeed doctoral studies. Students will be recruited from Geneseo and a nearby community college.
Representative Clients
Recent Insights
McAllister & Quinn is excited to announce that Amanda Parsons, M.P.P., P.M.P. has been promoted to Chief of Staff of the Higher Education Practice.
McAllister & Quinn is excited to announce that Kaitlyn Sands, M.P.A., has joined the firm’s growing Higher Education practice as Director of Grants & Federal Affairs.
McAllister & Quinn is excited to announce that Dr. Frank A. Boyd, political science and higher education expert with 26 years of experience, is joining McAllister & Quinn as Vice President in the Higher Education Practice in April.
McAllister & Quinn is excited to congratulate Wayne State College (WSC) on being awarded the Track 1 Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship grant focused on recruiting talented students into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educator preparation.
McAllister & Quinn is excited to announce our 2022 Higher Education Webinar Series lineup!
McAllister & Quinn is excited to announce that Deanna Nelson, M.P.A., has joined the firm’s growing Higher Education practice as Director of Grants & Federal Affairs.
Small & Mid-Sized Colleges & Universities Team
John McAllister
Managing Partner
Sally A. White, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President and Advisor for Firm Wide Strategic Initiatives
Maeve Connolly
Vice President
Jessica C. Gerrity, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Leader of the Higher Education Practice
Ellen Riddleberger
Senior Vice President
Annie Kurowski
Vice President
Angie Buckingham Melton
Vice President
Frank A. Boyd
Vice President
Ed Williams
Senior Vice President & General Counsel
Annie Ascunce
Director of Grants & Federal Affairs
Brittany Causey
Director, Grants and Federal Affairs
Emily Cunningham
Managing Director of Grants and Federal Affairs
Rachel DesFosses
Research Analyst
Susan Faulkner, Ed.D.
Executive Director of the Office of Grants Services
Rachel Flammer
Director, Grants and Federal Affairs
Tori Foster
Director of Grants and Federal Affairs
Christine Hempowicz, Ed.D., CRA
Director of Grants and Federal Affairs
Alexandra (AJ) Jensen, MBA
Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives Team Leader
Marianne Jordan
Managing Director of Grants, Foundation Relations Practice Leader
Claire Kartoz
Director of Grants & Federal Affairs
William M. Kay
Managing Director of Grants & Federal Affairs
Garrett Knothe
Healthcare and Government Relations Research Analyst
Christopher Mather
Business Development and Communications Analyst
Deanna Nelson, MPA
Director, Grants and Federal Affairs
Korie O’Kelly
Director, Grants and Federal Affairs
Alexis Pangborn
Managing Director of Grants and Federal Affairs
Amanda Parsons, MPP, PMP
Chief of Staff, Higher Education Practice
Bryanna Patinka
Senior Research Analyst
Micaela Quinn
Research Analyst
Kaitlyn Sands, MBA, MS
Director of Grants and Federal Affairs
Jessica Schor
Managing Director of Grants and Federal Affairs
Jennifer R. Taylor
Director, Higher Education
Mari Weddle
Research Analyst
Jessica Zamiska
Managing Director of Grants




Juniata College (PA)